Familiar Faces
Beautiful music Bethel Balge leads the Mankato Symphony Orchestra to a new chapter
F Photos courtesy Mankato Symphony Orchestra
NAME:
Bethel Balge HOMETOWN: New Ulm
OCCUPATION: Executive director of the Mankato Symphony
FAVORITE PIECE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC There are too many to list here!
ew artistic organizations in southern Minnesota have as long and storied a history as the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. For 70 years, the MSO has produced beautiful music, attracted talented musicians, and kept the beat going through thick and thin. And in recent years, the MSO has seen its share of both thick and thin. Like every other arts organization, it has dealt with the pandemic. MSO leaders also took a year to hire a new conductor (who is now in place, by the way) and are still searching for a permanent home. Luckily, Executive Director Bethel Balge is at the helm. Balge, an accomplished musician, has steered the MSO ship gracefully and from a musician’s perspective. Mankato Magazine: You’re currently in charge of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. Tell us what it was like ushering the MSO through the pandemic. Bethel Balge: Like everyone else, we faced unprecedented challenges. But there were silver linings: We discovered an outreach tool in virtual concerts, sending our programs out to an even wider audience on social media, including the homebound and residents of assisted living facilities. We continued to send out appeals to individuals and corporations for their fiscal support. And we even had time to clean out our attic. MM: Tell us about some of the challenges MSO faces during both pandemic and “normal” times. BB: Our perennial challenge —pandemic or not — is the lack of a permanent home. Though the MSO is over 70 years old, every year we need to work hard to find venues for both rehearsals and performances. Every season we try to book time and space in the busy schedules of area schools. Also, our office, our library and our instruments are scattered around in different locations around the city. We hope someday soon to find a permanent home for all of MSO’s needs. Another challenge is continuing to grow our audience. As COVID waned, we were blessed with record attendances. We would like to build on those numbers as we also work to reach people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, making concerts available to everyone. The MSO free ticket program presently offers vouchers to various underserved groups in the Greater Mankato area through organizations like the YWCA and MYSpace.
16 • AUGUST 2022 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
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